Mr. Speaker, we know that the Iranian revolutionary guard corps is at the epicentre of the Iranian nuclear weaponization program, its state sponsorship of international terrorism and its massive domestic repression.

The United States and others have sanctioned it as a terrorist entity, but the Canadian government regrettably continues to dither and delay.

Will the government finally list the IRGC as a mega-threat and terrorist entity under Canadian law and thereby sanction it effectively in the protection of international peace and security?

Deepak ObhraiConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, Canada is anxious to target senior officials for the Islamic revolutionary guard corps to counter its involvement with Iran's proliferation activities. Many Iranians are drafted into the revolutionary guard for military service and have no responsibility or involvement in the nuclear program.

These targeted measures are designed to hamper attempts by the Iranian authorities to develop a nuclear missile program. Canada is very much concerned about the happenings in Iran.

Kellie LeitchConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, our government is committing to helping vulnerable Canadians with self-sufficient and full-time participation in the economy. That also means making investments in housing.

This government has made investments in housing for new social housing numerous times. Whether that be renovations, 21,000 seniors benefit from our investments and 415 projects for those with disabilities.

I just wonder why the opposition continues to never support any of these initiatives we put forward in social housing to support the vulnerable.

Mr. Speaker, Canadian women and men have proudly marked International Women's Week from coast to coast to coast. According to a survey conducted by the American news outlet, Newsweek, Canada was ranked the third best place to be a woman in the world.

Canada was ranked a world leader on a key indicators of justice, health, education, economics and political involvement.

Our government is proud to have marked International Women's Week by announcing support for a new project that focuses on community plans in rural and remote communities and small urban centres in Canada. These grassroots projects will improve the lives of women and girls across Canada so they can be safer, more secure and more economically successful.

We believe that women's safety goes hand-in-hand with their economic security. Our Conservative government is focused on what matters: jobs and economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories biomass energy strategy has been an unqualified success. In the Northwest Territories, buildings owned by the territorial government and many large commercial buildings have been converted from heating with fuel oil to this source of renewable energy made from waste forest product.

The federal government owns many facilities across Canada's north. My question is for the Minister of Public Works. Has the government considered a program that would convert these buildings to renewable energy?

Mr. Speaker, deception is the order of the day, from fraudulent calls during the 2011 election to the Prime Minister's attempt yesterday to mislead Canadians when he said that he supported enhancing Elections Canada's investigative powers. Today's statements by the Prime Minister's spokesperson make it clear that the government's support for the opposition motion yesterday was merely a bid to bury the affair and that it has no real intention of amending the legislation to give Elections Canada the tools it needs.

Rather than try to dodge the issue, will the Prime Minister commit to amending the Canada Elections Act?

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. Yesterday in the House the member for Kingston and the Islands claimed that the Minister of Health knew of information that was discussed in camera in the health committee. I want to assure the House and the Speaker that this is entirely false. No such thing happened. In fact, the entire meeting was held in public, not in camera.

I certainly would encourage the member for Kingston and the Islands to direct his attention to the big red scrolling sign that says “Public, public, public” when the committee is in public discussion. That will help him be aware of what is really going on so that mischief does not come into the House, which is really not necessary. The meeting was entirely public.

In fact, the information that he was referring to was a very important motion about drug shortages, which this side of the House wanted to get through quickly. Unfortunately, the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord kept talking and time ran out.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition in the House of Commons from many of my constituents. The petitioners say that the Conservative government has threatened to make changes to the old age security program and that this is a direct attack on the poorest seniors who rely on that money for daily living expenses. On February 2, 2012, the NDP moved an opposition day motion calling on the House to reject the proposal by the Prime Minister to increase the eligibility for old age security while also calling on the government to take the necessary measures to eliminate poverty among seniors. Therefore, the undersigned citizens of Canada call upon the Parliament of Canada to maintain funding for the OAS and to make the requisite investments in the guaranteed income supplement to lift every senior out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present over 500 signatures on a petition from all across Canada, including Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and other provinces. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada and the House of Commons to meet the public health challenges posed by suicide, by adopting legislation that would recognize suicide as a public health issue, provide guidelines for suicide prevention, promote collaboration and knowledge exchange regarding suicide, promote evidence-based solutions to prevent suicide and its aftermath and to define best practices for the prevention of suicide.

Mr. Speaker, a year after celebrating CBC's 75th anniversary, the Conservative government is getting ready to undermine this iconic institution. The great irony is that the party that is planning to cut CBC's budget is the very party that created the broadcaster in the first place. In the early 1930s, the Conservatives wanted a public broadcaster to protect the Canadian identity and provide a forum for the two founding peoples and first nations to express themselves.

I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by people who support CBC and oppose cuts to funding for our only bilingual national broadcaster, whose funding the Conservatives and the Liberals have cut by more than 50% over the years.

Despite the cuts, CBC has soldiered on, representing Quebeckers and Canadians from coast to coast to coast. People love their public broadcaster.

CBC must receive the funding it needs to carry out its mission and fulfill the mandate it has been given by the laws that govern it. The Conservatives created a treasure, and they have a duty to protect it.

Leading scientists from universities and NASA are warning that Canada's cuts to its ozone monitoring program are already having effects on the world's ability to monitor air quality and ozone depletion.

Anne Thompson, a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, says that “Canada is a bellwether for environmental change.... It's unthinkable that data collection is beginning to shut down in this vast country”.

The petitioners call upon the Minister of the Environment to develop a plan to ensure the integrity of the ozone monitoring program and commission a report to assess the adequacy of Canadian contributions to the global observing system for climate in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The first petition is from residents of Nova Scotia who are concerned that about the fact that poverty affects over 10% of Canadians and disproportionately affects aboriginal peoples, recent immigrants, people with disabilities, youth and children.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also from residents of Nova Scotia who are concerned that global warning is a reality. It is no wonder they are concerned about it after such a mild winter.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to adopt the following policy goals in the spirit of global solidarity: that the government take collective action by signing and implementing a binding international agreement replacing the Kyoto protocol, an agreement that will commit nations to reduce carbon emissions; that fair and clear targets be set to ensure that global average temperatures stay below a 2°C increase from pre-industrial levels; that the government demonstrate national responsibility by committing to national carbon emission targets and a national renewable energy policy designed to achieve sustainability; that it implement climate justice by playing a constructive role in the design of the green climate fund under United Nations governance; and that it contribute public funds to assist the poorest and most affected countries to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Mr. Speaker, my petitions, coincidentally, follow perfectly from those presented by the hon. member for Halifax West. Sometimes I feel as though those of us in this House are sleepwalking as the planet moves us closer and closer to global disaster. Yet Canadians see this problem and they come to us with petitions.

I have three petitions this morning and the first one is primarily from residents of Ontario and calls on this House to find a way to put in place targets that would avoid a 2°C increase in global temperature, a target to which the Government of Canada says it is committed. However, we will never get there if we do not have a 25% reduction in greenhouse gases against 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.